Anyone know how/if a Cop can Open Carry?

[balttigger]

With MSP it was can carry concealed OR must display badge or Police ID. The carry is not limited to the duty weapon, but any weapon the officer has qualified with.

For me I simply pinned my badge to my under arm holster straps in case someone happened to catch a glimpse.

It is not a good idea/irresponsible in a state like this where people practically panic at the mere site of a gun to carry openly unless you are in uniform. You can bet the barracks would get a ton of calls from angry/fearful citizens and the Trooper would lose vacation days at the very least.

This is what the MSP Officers I work with say. They are allowed to conceal carry. If they choose to open carry, they must display their badge, most often attached to their belt just in front of their holster, so people see the badge at the same time as the gun.

 

[Doc13]

Regardless of duty status, on or off, my department requires that if you are not in uniform, your sidearm must be concealed. Certainly, part of this has to do with the reactions of the citizenry, but mostly it has to do with officer safety. If you are in the bank or 7-11 and the bad guys come rushing in with guns, you are likely to be the first one shot if you are obviously carrying a sidearm.

 

[G O B]

In places where open carry is not often seen, the temptation for miscreants to grab that gun something to take in consideration. The percieved value of a gun for a criminal is multiplied many times by the scarcity of them. IMHO carrying open in PG Co. would be an open invitation to get yourself hit in the head with a brick.

 

[novus collectus]

In places where open carry is not often seen, the temptation for miscreants to grab that gun something to take in consideration. The percieved value of a gun for a criminal is multiplied many times by the scarcity of them. IMHO carrying open in PG Co. would be an open invitation to get yourself hit in the head with a brick.

As someone put it on this or another board before, open carrying in similar areas in VA makes the gang members shy away from the person and we have not heard of one gun taken yet.

 

[MDFF2008]

I've even seen Maryland LEO's who conceal carry off duty display their badge next to their weapon (this particular one was a bouncer at a bar and his shirt came up when he was dancing)

 

[ranger3five]

I know that in Pg county if the officers weapon is showing a badge must on his belt or around his neck in sight .

 

[racinghoss]

ok how about if it's concealed but i make him a shirt saying "I HAVE A GUN, BUT IT'S OK."

and in VA anyone can open-carry if they can buy a gun right? can they have it OCed in the car?

Why do you want to put him in a potentially dangerous situation?

What would make a better headline for the pro-gun side:

1) your buddy carries concealed and saves a life

2) he is shot by a thug because said thug perceived him as a threat due to his t-shirt or sidearm on his belt?

 

[Hooker2]

My BIL is an officer in Virginia. He purposely conceals when off duty to avoid headaches and to keep an edge over everyone else. It would be retarded to open carry as it would limit his chance to do anything if shtf and it ID's you to the general public as a cop. (even if you are not)

 

[novus collectus]

Why do you want to put him in a potentially dangerous situation?

What would make a better headline for the pro-gun side:

1) your buddy carries concealed and saves a life

2) he is shot by a thug because said thug perceived him as a threat due to his t-shirt or sidearm on his belt?

Cops open carry when off duty in a few states, like some Texas Rangers as I have read, and many citizens open carry in many states, how many people are shot like that because of it?
Open carrying probably prevents more crime and is why we do not hear about this. Unless they are being arrested, not many people open up on a lonely uniformed officer.....and I think the openly worn gun has a lot to do with that.

 

[shawn]

My BIL is an officer in Virginia. He purposely conceals when off duty to avoid headaches and to keep an edge over everyone else. It would be retarded to open carry as it would limit his chance to do anything if shtf and it ID's you to the general public as a cop. (even if you are not)

Oh Jesus.......Here comes the OC vs CC debate.

Go to PAFOA.org and look on their threads on this.

It has been debated to death.


The short answer is no one has EVER been able to prove that you give up a tactical advantage while OCing.

In fact like some others already mentioned here......if you OC criminals tend to shy away from you.

Not run up to you and try to disarm you.

 

[Sid Hatfield]

The Open-Carry crowd--like that idiot Van Cleave--do us more harm then good when they go around staging and provoking incidents in public places. Yes, it means that his little group of tools gets lots of publicity, but bad publicity is not something that we gun owners as a whole need. The "in-your-face" thing doesn't exactly swing people over to our point of view as much as it turns people away, IMHO.

 

[shawn]

The Open-Carry crowd--like that idiot Van Cleave--do us more harm then good when they go around staging and provoking incidents in public places. Yes, it means that his little group of tools gets lots of publicity, but bad publicity is not something that we gun owners as a whole need. The "in-your-face" thing doesn't exactly swing people over to our point of view as much as it turns people away, IMHO.

That is one school of thought on that issue.

I just meant to point out that the OC vs CC threads on other forums are very very disruptive and usually turn members against each other.

 

[Sid Hatfield]

I just meant to point out that the OC vs CC threads on other forums are very very disruptive and usually turn members against each other.

I won't argue with you there.

 

[shawn]

I won't argue with you there.

Thank you.

and before that happens to our happy little forum here........they can just go read the ENDLESS discussions on PAFOA.ORG and read all about the pros vs cons of OC.

Besides.....I just wish we could carry at all here.........I wish our biggest problem was choosing whether to OC or CC that day.

 

[Hooker2]

Oh Jesus.......Here comes the OC vs CC debate.

Go to PAFOA.org and look on their threads on this.

It has been debated to death.


The short answer is no one has EVER been able to prove that you give up a tactical advantage while OCing.

In fact like some others already mentioned here......if you OC criminals tend to shy away from you.

Not run up to you and try to disarm you.

Do you carry every day? If so, your option, if not, no ground for argument.
He does not wish to draw unwanted attention or somebody wanting the assistance of a cop to keep the neighbors dog from pissing on their lawn.
Not trying to start an argument just going with what he does.
Cheers! it is beer thirty.

 

[novus collectus]

Ya know, I would really hate to see the argument someday between us on which is better carry: open in a Ford because it is better than concealed in a Chevy with a 9mm because it is better than .45 in a plastic pistol than a 1911.

 

[joppaj]

Ya know, I would really hate to see the argument someday between us on which is better carry: open in a Ford because it is better than concealed in a Chevy with a 9mm because it is better than .45 in a plastic pistol than a 1911.

Real men carry a big shiny .357mag while they drive a Dodge...

 

[Hooker2]

Flamethrower, mountain bike, no helmet.

 

[novus collectus]

Real men carry a big shiny .357magSIG while they drive a Dodge...

Fixed.


Just kidding

 

[boricuamaximus]

The only strong point I see in OC is that if someone is thinking of doing something at the moment he might think twice.

If he has plans, then it wont matter because the mind is already set and by default he will neutralize anything that will pose a threat.

Thats my $.02. In reality, I favor concealed because it adds that "what if" or forces them to take time consuming steps to ensure their safety while doing the deed. Same with an OC person.

Say a bank robber wants to rob a bank and you got Mr. Doe with his .357. Now there's something he needs to contend with and if it's a planned event he will find a way to nullify it. If concealed he will need to check everyone, wasting more time. Both ways add time and most robberies are within two minutes.

Both sides have a good advantage because if it's open carry, if he still decides to go through it, he will take all the steps to make sure that X person doesnt walk in and kills him. In short, open/concealed dont matter because the scumbag will have to think long and hard before attempting anything. In the long run he will spend so much time thinking on how to rip someone off that he will give up, go back to school and be a real criminal (CEO of X company asking for a bailout). In return, I offer friendship.